Clothes hanger organization method and system

ABSTRACT

A method and system for organizing different kinds of clothes hangers into separate groups. The system mounts each hanger on a sloped arm that is opposes and is separated from an opposing sloped arm by a vertically oriented structural member. Each sloped arm, in connection with the vertically oriented structural member, causes the a group of clothes hangers mounted on the arm to cant away from an adjacent group of clothes hangers mounted on an opposing adjacent arm. The canting of one group of clothes hangers away from another group minimizes the likelihood that hangers in one group will become entangled with hangers is another adjacent group.

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/558,563, filed Apr. 26, 2000, which application relates to provisional application Ser. No. 60/131,168, filed Apr. 27, 1999.

[0002] This invention relates to clothes hangers.

[0003] More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for organizing different kinds of clothes hangers into separate groups.

[0004] In another respect, the invention relates to a method and system for separating in a closet disparate clothes hangers into offsetting groups each comprised of one kind of clothes hanger.

[0005] In a further respect, the invention relates to a method and system for stacking in a closet groups of clothes hangars one above the other.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. Des. 399,378 to Horne discloses one prior art clothes hanger organizer. The clothes hanger organizer in the Horne patent includes a panel-shaped piece of material which hangs normal to the back of a closet. Loops extend outwardly from either side of the panel-shaped piece of material and receive clothes hangers.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,981 to Gregory et al. also discloses a prior art clothes hanger organizer which, like the Horne organizer, includes a panel-shaped piece of material which hangs normal to the back of a closet. In contrast, however, to the Horne organizer, clips (instead of loops) extend outwardly from either side of the panel-shaped piece of material. Each clip receives the head of a clothes hanger. The panel-shaped piece of material is provided to prevent hangers from becoming entangled. The hanger in one clip overhangs a hanger in the next lower clip.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,596 to Becker discloses an elongate piece of material with small notches formed in the piece of material. Each notch is intended to receive the head of a hanger.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. Des. 370,561 describes a hollow hanger storage case in which hangers are stored one on top of the other.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,479 discloses a frame for a garment bag. The frame includes a hanger head attached to the frame so that the head can swivel.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,968 to Christensen describes an inverted triangular-shaped hanger rack on which clothes hangers can be hung.

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,383 to Jenkins describes a hollow clothes hanger storage container in which hangers are stored one on top of the other.

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,241 to Kobza et al. discloses a rack for storing wire hangers.

[0014] U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,072 discloses a clothes hanger.

[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,019 discloses a hollow storage container for clothes hangers.

[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,710 discloses a hanger storage unit with a flat, horizontally oriented panel base.

[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,423 discloses apparatus for storing suspenders.

[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,287 discloses a hanging jewelry rack.

[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,270 discloses a hanging tie rack.

[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,554 discloses a hanging tie rack.

[0021] U.S. Pat. No. Des. 320,699 discloses a hanging tie rack.

[0022] U.S. Pat. No. Des. 320,118 discloses a hanging rack for ties, belts, and scarves.

[0023] While each of the foregoing patents comprises the prior art, it is not believed that a patent comprises relevant prior art unless the patent pertains at least to apparatus for organizing hangers into separate groups, and preferably pertains to organizing different kinds of hangers into groups each containing one kind of hanger. Only the Gregory et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,981) and Horne (Des. 399,378) patent appear to concern organizing clothes hangers into groups, and neither patent appears to address reorganizing hangers into groups including five or more like hangers. The Gregory et al. patent is primarily concerned with preventing the tangling of hangers by suspending individual hangers separate from one another, and is not concerned with organizing hangers into groups of like hangers. Another disadvantage of the Gregory et al. patent is the practice of overlapping hangers. This makes removal of hangers awkward because the head of the hanger being removed can hook and become entangled with other overlapping hangers. Both Gregory and Horne suggest that the panel-shaped piece of material normal to the back of a closet is necessary and important in preventing the entanglement of adjacent group of hangers.

[0024] Therefore, it is a principal object of the instant invention to provide an improved method and system for storing clothes hangers.

[0025] Another object of the invention is to provide an improved clothes hanger storage system which does not require the use of a panel-shaped piece of material between adjacent group of clothes hangers.

[0026] A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method for organizing clothes hangers into groups each containing like hangers.

[0027] These, and other and further and more specific objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the following description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[0028]FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a clothes hanger organizer constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention;

[0029]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a clothes hanger organization system in accordance with the invention; and, FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of a conventional plastic hanger.

[0030] Briefly, in accordance with the invention, I provide an improved hanger organizer for clothes hangers. Each clothes hanger includes a head and a clothes support structure. The head is shaped to mount the hanger. The improved hanger organizer comprises a support skeleton. The support skeleton includes a hook to mount the skeleton, an elongate vertically oriented body connected to the hook, a first arm, and a second arm. The first arm is connected to and extends outwardly from the body, includes a finger canting downwardly toward the body, and is shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a first group of clothes hangers free of clothes such that the heads slide downwardly toward the body so that one of the heads contacts the body and the first group of hangers cants away from the body. The second arm is connected to and extends outwardly from the body away from the first arm, opposes the first arm, and is shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a second group of clothes hangers free of clothes such that the heads of the second group of clothes hangers slide downwardly toward the body such that one of the heads of the second group of hangers contacts the body and the second group of hangers cants away from the body and from the first group of hangers. The hanger organizer also comprises a primary group of clothes hangers each including a head mounted on the first arm. The primary group of clothes hangers cants away from the body. The hanger organizer also comprises a secondary group of clothes hangers each including a head mounted on the second arm. The secondary group of clothes hangers cants away from the body and away from the primary group of clothes hangers.

[0031] In another embodiment of the invention, I provide a method of separating different hangers in a group of hangers. The group of hangers includes hangers of a first type and hangers of a second type different from the first type. Each hanger in the group includes a head and a support structure. The head is shaped to mount the hanger. The improved method includes the step of providing separation apparatus for separating different types of clothes hangers. The separation apparatus comprises a support skeleton. The support skeleton includes a hook for mounting the skeleton, an elongate vertically oriented body connected to the hook, a first arm, and a second arm. The first arm is connected to and extends outwardly from the body, includes a finger canting downwardly toward the body, and is shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a first group of clothes hangers such that the heads slide under gravity downwardly toward the body so that one of the heads contacts the body and the first group of hangers cants away from the body. The second arm is connected to and extends outwardly from the body away from the first arm, opposes the first arm, and is shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a second group of clothes hangers such that the heads of the second group slide downwardly under gravity toward the body so that one of the heads of the second group of hangers contacts the body and the second group of hangers cants away from the body and from the first group of hangers. The method also includes the steps of mounting on the first arm the head of each hanger of the first type, and mounting on the second arm the head of each hanger of the second type.

[0032] In a further embodiment of the invention, I provide improvements in combination with a closet including a floor and a back wall. The improvements comprise apparatus for organizing clothes hangers each including a head and a clothing support structure, the head being shaped to mount the hanger. The apparatus comprises, in combination, a horizontally oriented rod mounted in the closet above the floor of the closet, and a hanger support skeleton. The hanger support skeleton includes a hook mounted on the rod, an elongate vertically oriented body connected to the hook, a first arm, and a second arm. The first arm is connected to and extends outwardly from the body, and is shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a first group of clothes hangers, the heads sliding downwardly under gravity along the first arm toward the body in bunched-together relationship such that one of the heads contacts the body and the first group of hangers cants away from the body. The second arm is connected to and extends outwardly from the body away from the first arm, opposes the first arm, and is shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a second group of clothes hangers such that the heads of the second group slide downwardly under gravity along the second arm toward the body in bunched-together relationship so that one of the heads of the second group contacts the body and the second group of hangers cants away from the body and from the first group of hangers. The apparatus also includes a primary bunched-together group of clothes hangers each including a head slidably mounted on the first arm, the primary group of clothes hangers canting away from the body and being spaced above the floor of the closet; and, includes a secondary bunched-together group of clothes hangers each including a head slidably mounted on the second arm, the secondary group of clothes hangers canting away from the body and away from the primary group of clothes hangers and being spaced above the floor of the closet.

[0033] Turning now to the drawings, which describe the presently preferred embodiments of the invention for the purpose of describing the operation and use thereof and not by way of limitation of the scope of the invention, and in which like reference characters refer to corresponding elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a clothes hanger organizer 10 constructed in accordance with the invention. Organizer 10 includes a support skeleton and groups 60, 70 of clothes hangers on the support skeleton. The support skeleton can be constructed from any desired material, but is presently preferably constructed from metal wire or rod and is substantially rigid. The support skeleton includes a hook 11, elongate vertically oriented body 12, first arm 17 and second arm 20. Arm 17 is canted at an angle, indicated by arrows M, from the horizontal. Arm 20 is canted at an angle, indicated by arrows L, from the horizontal. The inner end of arm 17 and the inner end of arm 20 each terminate at and are connected to vertical member 23 of body 12. Arm 17 is opposite arm 20.

[0034] The outer end of arm 20 is connected to the lower end of elongate vertical member 19. The upper end of member 19 is connected to the outer end of elongate horizontal member 18. The inner end of member 18 is connected to member 23.

[0035] The outer end of arm 17 is connected to the lower end of elongate vertical member 16. The upper end of member 16 is connected to the outer end of elongate horizontal member 15. The inner end of member 15 is connected to member 23.

[0036] Arm 16 is parallel arm 19. Arm 17 opposes arm 20. Arm 18 opposes arm 15. Arms 17, 20, 16, 19, 15, 18 and member 23 each lie in a common flat plane. It is not necessary that each arm 15 to 20 lie in a common flat plane with member 23. Such a construction is, however, preferred in the practice of the invention because it helps prevent the clothes hangers 61, 62 in one group 60 from toeing into and becoming entangled with the clothes hangers 71, 72 in another group 70.

[0037] Arms 18,19, 20 form one wing 14 on the support skeleton to receive the heads of hangers. Arms 18, 19, 20 circumscribe opening 80. Arms 15, 16, 17 form another wing 13 on the support skeleton to receive the heads of clothes hangers. Arms 15,16 17 circumscribe opening 81. The shape and dimension of arm 17 is equal to that of arm 20. The shape and dimension of arm 16 is equal to that of arm 19. The shape and dimension of arm 15 is equal to that of arm 18. Arms 15 and 18 are co-linear. The opening 81 formed by arms 15 to 17 is equivalent to the opening 80 formed by arms 18 to 20.

[0038] The width, indicated by arrows A, of openings 80 and 81 is in the range of one-half to five inches, preferably one to three inches. The minimum height, indicated by arrows C, of openings 80 and 81 is in the range of one to six inches, preferably two to three inches. The maximum height, indicated by arrows B, is greater than the minimum height by an amount in the range of one-sixteenth to two inches, preferably one-eighth to one inch. It is important in the practice of the invention that the maximum height differ from the minimum height so that arms 17 and 20 are sloped. The slope of arms 17 and 20, and the opposition of arms 17 and 20, is important in causing a group of hangers with heads in opening 80 to cant away from a group of hangers with heads in opening 81. The canting of arms 17 and 20 is also important because when the heads of a plurality of hangers are hung on an arm 20, the heads slide down arm 20 under the force of gravity toward member 23 and bunch together such that each hanger is squeezed between the pair of hangers immediately to either side of the hanger (except for the hangers at the ends, which hangers only contact one adjacent hanger). This bunching of hangers on canted arm 20 tends to cause a group 60 of hangers 61, 62 to move in unison as a structural unit and to tilt away from member 23 by an angle indicated by arrows J (or K) in FIG. 1. The bunching of hangers on canted arm 20 also causes the group 60 of hangers on arm 20 to tilt away from the group 70 of hangers on arm 17. Consequently, the tilting of hanger groups 60 and 70 away from member 23 and from each other significantly reduces the likelihood that hangers 60, 61 in group 60 will become entangled with hangers 71, 72 in group 70. Further, since arms 17 and 20 are co-planar, the outer ends 80 or 81 of hangers in one group 60 normally don't toe-in to, contact, and become entangled with the outer ends 80 and 81 of hangers in another group 70.

[0039]FIG. 3 illustrates a conventional plastic hanger including a head 51 and a clothes support structure 61. Clothes support structure 61 includes arms 52 and 53 which form a structure 61 having a conventional triangular shape having outer ends or toes 80, 81. The shape and dimension of the support structure can vary as desired. The shape and dimension of head 51 can also vary as desired. Head 51, however, is normally in the shape of a hook which can be mounted on a horizontally oriented cylindrical dowel rod 55 (FIG. 2) in a closet, on another rod or hook in a closet, over the top of a door, etc.

[0040] In FIG. 1, the lower end 22 of hook 11 is pivotally connected 21 to the upper end of member 23 such that hook 11 can be pivoted three hundred and sixty degrees in the manner indicated by arrows Y.

[0041]FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention comprising clothes hanger organization apparatus in combination with a closet. The closet includes a horizontally oriented floor 56, a vertically oriented rear wall 57, and a cylindrical, horizontally oriented dowel 55 mounted in the closet to receive the hook 31 of a support skeleton. The lower end 32 of hook 31 is pivotally connected 33 to the upper end of vertically oriented member 35 of body 34 such that hook 31 can be rotated three hundred and sixty degrees in the directions indication by arrows Z.

[0042] Wings 40 and 42 have a shape and dimension equivalent to wing 13. Wings 41 and 43 have a shape and dimension equivalent to wing 14. The distance D between wings 40 and 42 is sufficient to permit a hanger with a head mounted on the lower arm of wing 40 to be positioned, preferably in its entirety, above wing 42. Similarly, the distance between wings 41 and 43 is sufficient to permit a hanger to hang on the lower arm of wing 41 with the support structure of the hanger positioned, preferably in its entirety, above wing 43. The distance E from the lowermost point(s) of wings 42, 43 to the floor 56 is sufficient to permit the support structure of a hanger with a head mounted on the lower arm 58, 59 of wing 42 or 43, respectively, to not touch the floor 56. The distance F from the rear wall 57 to body 34 is sufficient to permit the support structure of a hanger which is parallel to body 34 and normal to rear wall 57 to not contact wall 57. In FIG. 1, hangers 61, 62, 71, 62 are parallel to body 23. Arrow H indicates the distance from the top of rod 55 to floor 56.

[0043] Eyelet 25 is connected to the lower end of body 12. Eyelet 45 is connected to the lower end of body 34.

[0044] One well known type of clothes hanger is the clothes hanger made entirely from wire. Another well known type of clothes hanger 61 is the clothes hanger made entirely from plastic. Yet another well known type of clothes hanger is the clothes hanger which utilizes a wire head and a plastic support structure. Still another well known type of clothes hanger is the clothes hanger which includes a metal hook, a straight horizontally oriented arm, and two pair of plastic flaps or “alligator” mouths each mounted on one end of the arm. Each pair of flaps is squeezed closed at the top of a pair of pants by using a metal clip slidably associated with the flaps. The organizer of the invention is particularly useful in separating and organizing different types of clothes hangers. For example, in FIG. 1 the hangers 61 and 62 in group 60 can each comprise a wire hanger while the hangers 71 and 72 in group 70 can each comprise a hanger which is in its entirety made from plastic. Hangers 61, 62 generally have the same shape and dimension. Hangers 71, 72 generally each have the same shape and dimension. Member 23 is important during use of the organizer of the invention to separate a group of hangers into separate groups of like hangers because member 23 helps prevent the heads of hangers in one group 60 from becoming intermingled and entangled with the heads of hangers in another opposing group 70.

[0045] In use, the hook 31 (or 11) of the organizer of FIG. 2 (or FIG. 1) is hung on a rod 55 or other support structure. The heads 51 of hangers are hung on the arms 58, 59 of wings 42, 43. When there are different types of hangers, a plurality of one type of hanger can be hung on arm 58 and a plurality of another type of hanger can be hung on arm 59 to separate the hangers. If only one or two or a few hangers are on arm 58, the hangers tend to hang straight down and to not be canted away from member 36 in the manner that groups 60 and 70 are canted away from member 23 in FIG. 1. This is because the force of gravity acting on the hangers causes the heads of the hangers to slide a short distance up arm 58 and away from member 36 (or 23) such that the hanger is parallel to body 34. When, however, a group of hangers (usually at least four) is on arm 58, the weight of the hangers acting along canted arm 58 toward body 34 forces the top of the head of the hanger closest to member 36 (or 23) against member 36. When the head of a hanger is forced against member 23, this facilitates the canting of the support structure and head of each hanger away from body 34, especially when the support structure of the hanger is wider at some point than the width of the top 82 of the head of the hanger.

[0046] The clothes hanger organizer of the invention is utilized in combination with hangers which are free of clothes, i.e., clothes are not on the hangers. The weight of clothing on hangers can tend to cause hangers to slide up an arm 58 away from body 34 and to interfere with the hanger group—canting feature of the invention. When a group of hangers is placed on a canted arm 58, the frictional forces between the hangers and interlocking of hanger parts help the group of hangers to function as a structural unit and to cant as a group. When clothing is on the hangers, the clothing often readily slides over adjoining clothing, facilitating the movement by each hanger independently of the other hangers.

[0047] Having described my invention in such terms as to be understood by those of skill in the art, and having described the presently preferred embodiments and best mode thereof, I claim: 

1. A hanger organizer for clothes hangers including a head and a support structure, the head being shaped to mount the hanger, the organizer comprising, in combination, (a) a support skeleton including (i) hook means for mounting said skeleton, (ii) an elongate vertically oriented body connected to said hook means, (iii) a first arm connected to and extending outwardly from said body, including a finger canting downwardly toward said body, shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a first group of clothes hangers free of clothes, said heads sliding downwardly under gravity toward said body in bunched-together relationship such that one of the heads contacts said body and the first group of hangers cants away from said body, (iv) a second arm connected to and extending outwardly from said body away from said first arm, opposing said first arm, shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a second group of clothes hangers free of clothes, said heads of the second group sliding downwardly under gravity toward said body in bunched-together relationship such that one of the heads of the second group contacts the body and the second group of hangers cants away from said body and from the first group of hangers; (b) a primary group of clothes hangers each including a head mounted on said first arm, said primary group of clothes hangers canting away from said body; and (c) a secondary group of clothes hangers each including a head mounted on said second arm, said secondary group of clothes hangers canting away from said body and away from said primary group of clothes hangers.
 2. A method of separating different hangers in a group of clothes hangers free of clothes, the group of hangers including hangers of a first type and hangers of a second type, each hanger including a head and a support structure, the head being shaped to mount the hanger, said method including the steps of (a) providing hanger separation apparatus comprising a support skeleton including (i) hook means for mounting said skeleton, (ii) an elongate vertically oriented body connected to said hook means, (iii) a first arm connected to and extending outwardly from said body, including a finger canting downwardly toward said body, shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a first bunched-together group of clothes hangers free of clothes, said heads sliding downwardly under gravity along said first arm toward said body in bunched-together relationship such that one of said heads contacts said body and the first group of hangers cants away from said body, (iv) a second arm connected to and extending outwardly from said body away from said first arm, opposing said first arm, shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a second group of clothes hangers free of clothes, said heads of the second group sliding downwardly under gravity along said second arm toward said body in bunched-together relationship such that one of said heads of the second group contacts the body and the second group of hangers cants away from said body and from the first group of hangers; (b) mounting in the first arm the head of each hanger of the first type; (c) mounting in the second arm the head of each hanger of the second type.
 3. In combination with a closet including a floor, and a back wall, the improvements comprising apparatus for organizing clothes hangers free of clothes and each including a head and a support structure, the head being shaped to mount the hanger, the apparatus comprising, in combination, (a) a horizontally oriented rod mounted in the closet above the floor of the closet; (b) a support skeleton including (i) hook means mounted on said rod, (ii) an elongate vertically oriented body connected to said hook means, (iii) a first arm connected to and extending outwardly from said body, including a finger canting downwardly toward said body, shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a first group of clothes hangers free of clothes, said heads sliding downwardly along said first arm under gravity toward said body in bunched-together relationship such that one of the heads contacts said body and the first group of hangers cants away from said body, (iv) a second arm connected to and extending outwardly from said body away from said first arm, opposing said first arm, shaped and dimensioned to receive the heads of a second group of clothes hangers free of clothes, said heads of the second group sliding downwardly along said second arm under gravity toward said body in bunched-together relationship such that one of the heads of the second group contacts the body and the second group of hangers cants away from said body and from the first group of hangers; (c) a primary bunched-together group of clothes hangers each free of clothing and including a head slidably mounted on said first arm, said primary group of clothes hangers canting away from said body and being spaced above the floor of the closet; and (d) a secondary bunched-together group of clothes hangers each free of clothing and including a head slidably mounted on said second arm, said secondary group of clothes hangers canting away from said body and away from said primary group of clothes hangers and being spaced above the floor of the closet. 